PennDOT, the state department of transportation, said this week it is hiring for transportation jobs in Pennsylvania.

They are particularly recruiting college students for summer employment.

Information about the positions can be found on the website of Rep. Stan Saylor, R-Windsor Township, by clicking here. Click on “Summer PennDOT Work.”

All positions are full time and pay over $11 per hour.

Requirements include the fact that candidates must be over 18 and be enrolled in college for the fall semester.

Around 18 positions are available in York County.

According to YDR.com, students will spend most of their time working outdoors, augmenting regular maintenance crews on projects throughout each county.

To apply, students should complete the personal data sheet, print and submit it along with a resume and proof of academic enrollment to Saylor’s district office by Feb. 8.

A Bethlehem-based agency said this week it has secured someone for advertising jobs in Pennsylvania.

Amanda Dickson has been hired as an Account Service Associate at Spark.

According to her bio, Dickson has worked as Marketing Communications Manager at Altitude Marketing, where she guided client product launches, supported public relations objectives and managed all aspects of client account communications.

She is also on the Institutional Advancement Committee with the Historic Bethlehem Partnership and is Co-Chair of the 2012 ADDY Awards for Lehigh Valley Ad Club.

“Our continued growth has given us the opportunity to expand our team with another quality professional,” said Michael Drabenstott, Principal at Spark, “Amanda has a broad marketing background and a proven track record as an account services manager. She fits Spark’s creative culture and will be an asset for both our team and our clients.”

A railroad company is expanding and plans on hiring hundreds for skilled trade jobs in Pennsylvania and a variety of other locations.

Norfolk Southern Corporation plans to hire 500 employees in eight states by the end of 2011 to meet the growing demand for freight rail service and to replace employees retiring in coming years. (more…)

Amazon said last week that it is recruiting heavily for operations jobs in Pennsylvania, among other positions.

Amazon is hiring at its its Carlisle and Lewisberry, Pa. fulfillment centers are now hiring for hundreds of new full-time jobs with comprehensive health care benefits.

Amazon offers comprehensive benefits including:
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CIGNA said this week it is ramping up efforts to hire for nursing jobs in Pennsylvania.

CIGNA’s office in Pittsburgh is recruiting for 164 new employees to join its Integrated Personal Health and Your Health First(SM) teams. The company is seeking nurses, behavioral clinicians, health educators, personal advocates and others for leadership roles at competitive salaries and benefits.

There will be a career fair and open house for those interested in these positions from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. on July 26 and August 31. at CIGNA’s office at 3200 Park Lane Drive in North Fayette. (more…)

One author is giving sage advice on how to hire for labor jobs in Pennsylvania.

Here’s what David Bruce had to say about hiring a contractor:

There are steps you can take to improve the likelihood your addition or renovation is done, and done well.

The first step, once you have decided to go ahead with a home-improvement project, is to visit the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s website, www.attorneygeneral.gov.

Pennsylvania’s Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act took effect in July 2009. The state law requires contractors to register with the Attorney General’s Office, carry a minimum amount of insurance, and provide their registration number on advertisements and contracts.

“You can visit the website and learn what your rights are as a homeowner,” says Nils Frederiksen, deputy press secretary for the Attorney General’s Office. “You can also check the list of registered contractors. If the one you’re dealing with is not on the list, our advice is to walk away.”

Once you have checked at least three contractors through the Attorney General’s Office, get estimates from each of them.

The lowest bid might not be the best one, Etshied said. It could be low because the contractor uses substandard materials or doesn’t actually do the work.

“We also have heard of contractors charging for an estimate, or stating in fine print that they will charge you if you choose a different builder,” Etshied said. “That is illegal.”

Once you have the estimates, ask each contractor for references.

Then call those references.

“It can be awkward to make those calls, but it’s worth the time and effort,” Frederiksen says.

“Ask if there were problems with their project. If you’re doing a bigger project, ask for older references to see how the addition or deck has withstood the test of time.”

Warzynak says he wishes he would have checked references before hiring his contractor.

He has since discovered the guy has a long list of unhappy customers.

“I went to the Erie County Courthouse and found out there are at least 15 judgments against him,” Warzynak says.

Efforts to contact the contractor were not successful. The phone number he lists with the Attorney General’s Office is not a working number.

Two years after hiring the contractor, Warzynak is trying to finish his addition on his own.

“All he did was dig the foundation and laid block for the basement,” Warzynak says. “I did the insulation mostly by myself doing the rest a little at a time. The project was supposed to be finished in 2009, but I won’t be done until next year.”

As more Pennsylvania jobs continue to be created, one must remain vigilant about who they hire and check reputations thoroughly.

According to recent stats from the BLS, Pennsylvania jobs showed marked gains, more than most states.

Forty-six states and the District of Columbia posted unemployment rate decreases
from a year earlier, three states reported increases, and one state had no
change. The national jobless rate edged up by 0.2 percentage point between March
and April to 9.0 percent, but was 0.8 point lower than a year earlier. (more…)

Cable and Internet provider RCN said this week it will be hiring for customer service jobs in Pennsylvania and other locations.

It’s already hired 57 people for its Plains Township call center and plans an additional 50 workers locally for more Pennsylvania jobs.

That’s bigger than initial estimates given in January.

“We increased the total headcount by 22 after further analysis of call center metrics. We’re striving to respond to customers quickly and efficiently and determined that additional headcount was needed,” said Joanne Guerriero, a company spokeswoman.

RCN has another call center in Bethlehem, which is also plans on staffing with additional crew members.

William Shelley, VP of Customer Service, said, “To that end we have built a second call center in Bethlehem. Secondly, by September of this year, we expect that 100 percent of calls into our center will be answered and handled by employees located in Pennsylvania.”

According to MSPNews.com, the company’s primary service areas include Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, N (more…)

Temple University in Philly said this week it has enacted a hiring freeze due to cutbacks in state funding that will affect education jobs in Pennsylvania.

The freeze will affect a wide variety of positions.

The university also said it is delaying a search for five deans.
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MCP has just been given an award, showing how vital the company has been in boosting tech jobs in Pennsylvania.

Mission Critical Partners, Inc. (MCP), a Ben Franklin Technology Partners/CNP portfolio company, took home the prize for Growth Company of the Year at last Friday’s 19th Annual Technology Awards Gala. The event, www.tccp.org which was held at the Whitaker Center for the Arts and Sciences in Harrisburg, PA, was attended by nearly 300 of the state’s technology leaders.

Accepting the award was MCP Senior Vice President, Brian Bark. “At Mission Critical Partners we ‘partner’ with clients and staff to deliver innovative public safety solutions nationwide. It is with the help of our first ‘partner,’ Ben Franklin, and their help from the beginning, that MCP is able to accept this award.”
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